Introduction:
Every meteorite that reaches Earth carries a piece of our solar
system’s history. NASA’s Meteorite Landings dataset compiles thousands
of these discoveries. This dataset contains detailed records of over
45,000 meteorites that have been found or observed falling to
Earth.
The dataset includes the following key variables:
- name: Official meteorite name
- id: Identification number from NASA
- nametype: “Valid” is a normal meteoroid. “Relict” is a weathered
down meteoroid
- class: Meteorite classification (e.g., H5, L6, CM2)
- mass (g): Mass of the meteorite in grams
- fall: “Fell” (observed fall) or “Found” later (not observed)
- year: The year it fell or was found
- reclat / reclong: Latitude and longitude of discovery site
- type: The main group of which each meteorite is a part of
- Stony: Outer crust of asteroids
- Iron: Cores of asteroids
- Stony-Iron: Core-mantle boundary
- Achondrite: Melted
- Unknown/other
Objective
For my project, I’ll explore NASA’s Meteorite Landings dataset. The
data shows meteorite discoveries from all over the world, including
their size, location, and type. I want to find patterns in when and
where meteorites are found and what kinds are most common.
Here are the questions I want to answer:
- Where on Earth have the largest meteorites been found?
- Which meteorite types are found most often?
- How has the number of meteorite discoveries changed over time?
- Which hemisphere has more recorded meteorites?
- Does latitude affect where meteorites land
- Do we find more meteors or are they found beceause we saw them
fall?
Where on Earth?!
Do most of the meteors land at?